Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M)-led Kerala Government found itself in an embarrassing situation as Governor Mohammed Arif Khan concluded his address to the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, the opening day of this year’s session. The Governor, after his customary salutations to the House, read out the concluding line of the policy statement and promptly left the House, all within a span of one minute.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (also known as Karana Bhoothan) stood bewildered and perplexed as the Governor exited the House, leaving both the shocked treasury and Opposition benches aghast. This is the first incident of its kind reported from anywhere in the country.
There is nothing surprising in this development. The policy statement given to the Governor by the Government for reading out in the House is complete nonsense. The State Government has blamed the Centre for all its omissions and commissions, leading the Governor to skip the entire speech.
However, according to PC George, a seven-time legislator and former chief whip of the Kerala Government, the Governor has done nothing wrong, as this incident was waiting to happen.
He said what is interesting is the speeches to be delivered by the Congress during the discussion on thanking the policy statement.
“The Congress and the CPI(M) are constituents of the INDI Alliance, and Kerala is the only State where they are not together. If the Congress is sincere, its legislators should expose the failures of the government. We saw a woman assistant public prosecutor committing suicide in Kollam earlier this week due to the harassment meted out to her by the CPI(M) leaders. A physically challenged person committed suicide in Wayanad because the State government failed to provide the monthly pension due to him, while the octogenarian Mariyamma, another pensioner, has been going around the state with a begging bowl soliciting financial help from good Samaritans, as the CPI(M) government has failed to reimburse her dues for more than a year,” said George.
The 63-page-long speech, intended to be read out by the Governor, was full of eloquence on Pinarayi Vijayan and a scathing attack on the Centre. While highlighting NITI-Ayog’s praise for the ‘unprecedented’ progress made by the State in the Human Development Index, the Keralaeeyam Global Show, and the Nava Kerala Sadass, which ended in a fiasco, the speech blamed the Centre for every setback suffered by Kerala, pointed out the veteran lawmaker.
VD Satheeshan, leader of the Opposition, blamed the CPI(M) and the BJP for the Governor’s actions.
“He humiliated the people of Kerala,” alleged Satheeshan.
“Although the Governor skipped the entire speech, the fact that he came to the House and greeted the members is an indication that the speech has been delivered by him. “This is a fallout of what the CPI(M) has been doing to the Governor for quite some time now. The Governor has done his best to avoid all kinds of controversies and has depended on consensus. However, politicians in the State, including the BJP, have been trying to humiliate and disgrace him. Kerala does not deserve a gentleman like Arif Mohammed Khan as its Governor,” said a source close to the Governor.
